Procedure boosts outcomes in implantable defibrillator patients (Germany)

"Heart patients with a dangerous rapid heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia often get implantable cardiac defibrillators to help control the condition, and a new study suggests that they will have fewer recurrences of the abnormality if they undergo a procedure called catheter ablation before they receive the device. Reporting December 31 in The Lancet, researchers at Asklepios Klinik St. Georg in Hamburg, Germany, looked at 107 patients aged 18 to 80, all of whom had had a previous heart attack, an episode of stable ventricular tachycardia and reduced left-ventricular function. Participants were assigned to receive implantable defibrillators either alone or along with catheter ablation, a procedure that destroys faulty tissue within the heart linked to irregular heartbeats. The patients' outcomes were followed for an average of close to two years" - HealthDay